Sinnott is assembling a new-look squad for his first full season

Port Vale boss Lee Sinnott is standing by his decision to release over a dozen players in the close season.

Sinnott told BBC Radio Stoke: "It is painful but we could look back in three or four years' time and think we did what we did because it was necessary.

"We needed to act to try and achieve something like what Doncaster and Carlisle have. That has to be the aim."

To compensate the 13 players leaving the Burslem club, Sinnott has brought six new faces into Vale Park.

These new faces include defender Sam Stockley, who has joined from Wycombe Wanderers, and striker Steve Thompson from Middlesbrough.

Last season things didn't happen and they didn't happen for a reason Port Vale boss Lee Sinnott

Sinnott will be hoping that the new faces can help Vale to promotion from League Two at the first attempt after his first foray into Football League management ended in relegation from League One.

"Sometimes players can come together and it doesn't quite click, I think we suffered a little from that last year," said the former Farsley Celtic boss.

"You could go into the basics of saying we conceded too many, we didn't score enough goals, we were unlucky. But at the end of the day last season things didn't happen and they didn't happen for a reason."